HTC One Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra

The big phones in their biggest fight yet

So, today is the day that we have all been sat waiting for. The talk of trios and leaked imagery are now behind us as the HTC One Max has been officially announced, joining the HTC One and the HTC One Mini.

The HTC One Max is launching into an ever increasingly crowded market, one that was arguably started by the original Samsung Galaxy Note. With the latest iteration the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 having recently been launched, and the Sony Xperia Z Ultra just around the corner, where does that leave the HTC One Max?

HTC One Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra: OS

With there being little other OS to speak of in the phablet market, the OS of choice for all three phablets is Android.

The HTC One Max manages to sneak alongside the Galaxy Note 3, as it comes packing Android 4.3 with Sense 5.5 laid over the top, giving access to the likes of the revamped HTC BlinkFeed.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 comes with Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz overlay, and as for the Sony Xperia Z Ultra, it comes with Android 4.2 and Sony's TimeScape overlain.

HTC One Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra: Screen

The screen of any phablet is bound to be the talking point, if only for the sheer size that these devices offer.

The HTC One Max comes packing a 5.9-inch Full HD screen with 367ppi, making it a whole 0.2 inches larger than the Korean offering.

The Samsung Galaxy Note coming in at only 5.7 inches, with a 1080 x 1920 Full HD Super AMOLED display. This means that it comes with 386ppi.

By far the biggest of the bunch though, is the 6.44-inch screen that comes on the face of the Xperia Z Ultra. That does mean that the pixel density comes in at 342ppi, but is backed up with Sony's Triluminous display.

Out of all the three processors on offer, the HTC One Max comes in at the smallest. Qualcomm's older Snapdragon 600 processor is sat underneath, giving the One Max a respectable 1.7GHz quad-core inside. To aid this, HTC has put in 2GB of RAM.

The Galaxy Note 3 and the Xperia Z Ultra are both packing larger processors, the upgraded Snapdragon 800 chip. This is clocked at 2.2GHz in the Sony, with the Koreans edging out the Japanese by a whole 0.1GHz, at 2.3.

The Galaxy Note 3 also packs in the largest amount of RAM, with a whopping 3GB making it the most powerful smartphone in the world. This dwarfs both the 2GB found in the One Max and Xperia Z Ultra.

HTC One Max vs Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Sony Xperia Z Ultra: Camera

One of the hottest topics when it comes to modern smartphones is the camera tech sat inside them. Of the most interesting was probably the UltraPixel technology that first graced the HTC One. Thankfully this has also made its way over to the HTC One Max.

HTC Zoe is also on the HTC One Max, coming with Sequence Shot, Always Smile and Object removal. You'll be pleased to know that the HTC One max does also come with a forward facing camera, although it would be sacrilege not to, measured at 2.1MP. Both cameras are able to record in Full HD.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 comes with a whopping 13MP, technically making it the biggest camera out of the three, although the front facing camera is only 2MP, making it the joint smallest with the Sony.

Samsung's many photo modes are included in the Galaxy Note 3, with Beauty Face, Best Photo and Drama modes being included. The interesting Sound and Shot mode is also popped on. Again, recording can be done in Full HD.

The Sony Xperia Z only packs in an 8MP camera, although that is backed up with the Exmore RS sensor that has made its way onto many Sony Xperia handsets of late. As with both the HTC and the Samsung, Full HD video recording is supported.